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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. swing — to play on
  4. present — the time now
  5. prune — to trim
  6. net — for catching
  7. mug — a cup
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. prune — to trim
  10. mug — to rob
  11. lean — thin
  12. net — in sport
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. present — there
  15. swing — music
  16. hand — in cards
  17. lean — to bend
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. net — after costs
  20. present — a gift
  21. wake — a trail
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. swing — in golf
  24. hand — help

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com